Paul Cullen has given 27 years of almost unbroken service to Warrington, initially as a formidably competitive player and more recently as the coach who did more than anyone to ensure the success of their move from Wilderspool to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. In a brief spell as commercial manager, he even designed the club badge when Wire became the Wolves at the start of the Super League era.

But Cullen takes his under-achieving team across the M62 to St Helens today in the knowledge that he needs the most unlikely win of his career to be sure of retaining the job of his dreams.

Knowsley Road is the last place Cullen would have chosen for a Challenge Cup quarter-final which will determine his future as Wolves coach: Warrington have not won there since 1994, suffering 16 consecutive defeats including some embarrassing drubbings. And with wretched Super League form - seven defeats out of eight since Easter which have left a club expected to challenge for honours more concerned by the growing threat of relegation - the 44-year-old appreciates that even a brave effort against the cup holders may not be enough to save him.

His contract is up at the end of the season and so far there has been a worrying silence from the club about his future and Ellery Hanley's friendship with Simon Moran, the music promoter who is Warrington's majority shareholder, has led to inevitable if unreliable speculation that he will soon take over - as Cullen acknowledges with typical candour.

"Am I aware of it? Of course I am. Do I spend too much time trying to work anything out? If I do, there's an awful lot of energy that would be lost in me getting into that sort of situation. The only way out of this is to be winning games, it's not to be worrying about what people think or what people may or may not do. It's a considered, conscientious effort not to get caught up in it. I don't wish to appear vague or ducking questions or issues. You have to block certain issues out.

"I'm fully aware what's being said, what's being written, I've got no dramas with any of that whatsoever, it's a fact of life. I'm a realist, I know exactly what goes on out there in the big world. But the point is it cannot be affecting our daily work and I genuinely don't think it is. We are a very positive group and we're going into this game with one aim, and that's to win it."

Yet Warrington have not beaten St Helens anywhere since April 2001 and the single win in 33 meetings since 1996 came against a Saints team unmistakably distracted by a cup final appearance against Bradford at Twickenham the following week.

The Wolves have managed a couple of draws since then but the gulf between the local rivals looked as wide as ever when a below-strength Saints cruised to a 40-12 win at the Halliwell Jones less than two weeks ago. "You're getting sacked in the morning," their supporters chanted at Cullen, heartless humour that proved inaccurate but was uncomfortably near the mark, nevertheless.

Some of Warrington's own fans stayed behind to abuse the coach and his team after the recent home defeat against Harlequins and have peppered message boards and local radio phone-ins with calls for his head. They seem to have long forgotten how he returned from two years in Cumbria as coach of Whitehaven to save them from relegation in 2002 and then steer them to a first appearance in the top- six play-offs the following season.

It is since the move to the new stadium, and the increase in expectations, that Cullen has struggled. Warrington are one of seven clubs spending the Super League's maximum £1.8m salary cap and last winter saw them bring back the Great Britain forward Adrian Morley after six years in Sydney to join a squad including eight more internationals, among them the New Zealanders Paul Rauhihi, Vinnie Anderson and Henry Fa'afili as well as the former Saints centre Martin Gleeson.

But, after starting the season with a comprehensive win at Wigan, the team have simply failed to deliver and, although injuries have undeniably hampered the Wolves, Cullen concedes they are no longer a valid excuse.

"You can't duck the issue," he said. "This is not the best position we've ever been in. But if you spend too much time looking down and looking backwards you will fall into that hole. If you remain with that positive thought process, two wins gets us back into the top four. That's how tight it is. That's how we're trying to remain strong and positive. We are fully aware of where we are and what's underneath us and we can also feel and smell and touch what's not too far in front."

The worry for Cullen is that, unless Warrington win today, the dream of winning trophies with his home town club will be taken permanently out of his reach.